Yeh Ming-hsun memorial held

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- A solemn memorial ceremony for legendary journalist Yeh Ming-hsun, was held Saturday and attended by many political leaders and journalists, including President Ma Ying-jeou.

Ma presented a state citation during the ceremony in recognition of Yeh's contribution to the development of journalism in Taiwan.

Also participating in the ceremony were Vice President Vincent Siew, Kuomintang (KMT) Honorary Chairman Lien Chan, former Premier Hau Pei-tsun and Central News Agency (CNA) Chairman Joe Hung, as well as Yeh's widow, son and three daughters.

Yeh passed away on Nov. 21 at the age of 96.

Born in 1913 in China's Fujian Province, Yeh was the first correspondent dispatched by CNA in China to Taiwan in 1945. In that same year, he was tasked in Taipei to take over the office of Domei Tsushinsha, the official news agency of the Empire of Japan.

Yeh served as president of CNA's Taipei branch until 1950, when the agency moved its headquarters to Taipei. In the following year, he began his career in newspapers as president of the KMT-owned Chunghwa Daily.

From 1959 to 1965 he served as the president of the Independence Evening Post, and after working in television and setting up one of Taiwan's most important advertising agencies in the following decades. He returned to the newspaper business as acting chairman of the Taiwan Shin Sheng Daily News between 1998 and 1999.

In the late 1950s, Yeh and Cheng She-wo jointly established the Shih Hsin School of Journalism — the predecessor of Shin Hsin University (SHU) — and he served as vice president of the school in 1966 and then as chairman of the university between 1991 and 2006.

He was also named by the government in 1990 as one of the members of a special task force in charge of investigating the 228 Incident, also known as the 228 Massacre — an anti-government uprising in Taiwan that began on Feb. 27, 1947 and was violently suppressed by the KMT government.

Regarded as a legendary figure in Taiwan's journalistic circles, Yeh was awarded an honorary doctorate by SHU in 2008.

SHU President Lai Ting-ming said in a documentary film on Yeh's life, broadcast at the memorial ceremony, that "Yeh never really rested until falling down."

A memorial ceremony for legendary journalist Yeh Ming-hsun was held in Taipei and attended by many political figures, including President Ma Ying-jeou, and representatives from the mass media community. (CNA)